yeah, i'm not super fond of asugi. i understand what they were going for with all the awakening-based characters, but it wasn't executed that well. they came off as odd copies as opposed to nice little homages to a previous game. especially paired with the fact that laslow, selena, and odin are probably going to be very confused when meeting them... it's just a weird dynamic. that being said, their hearts were in the right place and i'm not necessarily opposed to the awakening-based characters, i just find it a little bit strange.
yep, niles is the male one.
and you're right. now that i look at him again the pink and blonde is a very maribelle look, i never noticed that before.